{"id":1867387,"date":"2026-04-06T02:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T23:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1867387"},"modified":"2026-04-06T02:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T23:22:19","slug":"donovan-mitchell-leaves-two-defenders-on-the-floor-in-viral-ankle-breaker-during-cavs-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1867387","title":{"rendered":"Donovan Mitchell leaves two defenders on the floor in viral ankle breaker during Cavs win"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Donovan Mitchell broke two pairs of ankles with one move.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, during the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 117-108 win over the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell dropped jaws and two Pacers defenders before scoring via a floater as Indiana\u2019s Micah Potter and Kobe Brown watched from the ground.<\/p>\n

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WHAT A MOVE BY DONOVAN MITCHELL \ud83d\ude32 pic.twitter.com\/vxILztyK9o<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mitchell\u2019s latest example of crossover craftsmanship is the latest in a long line of smooth moves<\/a> by the ninth-year veteran. His elite handle, high-flying athleticism and knack for acceleration are why defenders should always be on their toes \u2026 until Mitchell makes them fall, of course.<\/p>\n

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Throughout the season, Mitchell has been confusing defenders by also mastering his version of the sidemill gather step<\/a>, which often leaves opponents in a cloud of dust, similar to when Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade used it during his playing days. Mitchell has also made incredible use of the Shammgod crossover<\/a> well enough to put the finishing touches on one of the most efficient seasons of his career.<\/p>\n

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Mitchell entered Sunday shooting 57.9 percent on drives while ranking fifth among all players with 666 such points, according to NBA.com. His ability to pressure the rim is a big reason he sits ninth among players with 620 points on pull-up jumpers. Mitchell ranks fifth among all players in pull-up 3s this season.<\/p>\n

During Sunday\u2019s game, thanks to a 38-point, six-rebound, six-assist effort, he became the 12th player in Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 history to reach 7,000 points with the franchise. Mitchell trails only LeBron James (27.2) for the highest scoring average in Cavaliers history.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Why<\/p>\n
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\n Why the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 secret to success is gourmet meals, stir-fry and ice cream\n <\/div>\n
\n Rather than meals at expensive restaurants that require extensive planning, Cavaliers players prefer team dinners at their hotels.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Although highlights are fun, it remains to be seen if Mitchell, like James, can lead Cleveland out of the Eastern Conference for a run at adding another championship banner to Cleveland\u2019s rafters. Since the Cavaliers acquired Mitchell before the 2022-23 season, they rank third among all teams in win percentage, but among the top seven teams in that category over that span \u2014 Celtics, Thunder, Nuggets, Knicks, Timberwolves, Lakers \u2014 Cleveland is the only one without a conference finals appearance.<\/p>\n

Cleveland is currently fourth in the East and would play the Atlanta Hawks in a first-round matchup if the playoffs started today. With less than a week left in the regular season, though, it will be interesting to see how well Mitchell and the Cavaliers finally combine style points with postseason substance.<\/p>\n

Like Sunday\u2019s double-whammy crossover, the world will be watching.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donovan Mitchell broke two pairs of ankles with one move. On Sunday, during the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 117-108 win over the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell dropped jaws and two Pacers defenders before scoring via a floater as Indiana\u2019s Micah Potter and Kobe Brown watched from the ground. WHAT A MOVE BY DONOVAN MITCHELL \ud83d\ude32 pic.twitter.com\/vxILztyK9o \u2014 NBA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1867387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1867387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1867387\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1867387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1867387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1867387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}